Conflicts that bind us
by Ask the Wind a Favor
Summary: A deadly assassination plot. A mysterious child appearing out of nowhere. A flood of repressed memories. A relationship with questionable results. What's a computer hacker to do? Warnings: Some fluff and possibly some lemon on later chaps, Shota. MakuXOC
1. Lost

**Chapter 1 - Lost**

_So I'm supposed to abduct someone in Mugen City?_

_We have taken note of your ability and we found you to be perfect for the job..._

_What do you need him for anyway?_

_I'm afraid that falls into classified information..._

_How about the authorities?_

_Taken care of. Should they report to them, they'll simply lead them to a wild goose chase..._

_Why not get the other two instead of me? They have more expertise when it comes to jobs like this._

_The Getbackers? They are not to be involved in this. The target has a connection to them._

_I see. I expect my reward money to be delivered to my account as soon as I deliver the target._

_giggle It's surprising that a guy your age has a bank account..._

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Makubex was busy as always with his project of searching for information regarding the God of Mugenjou. Dozens of computer surrounded him and cables were littered all over the floor where he was sitting. So far, he hasn't made any progress in penetrating the database's strict defense. Ever since his brush with Masaki, the database's encryption tightened. He paused for a while and drank the cup of coffee that Sakura gave him earlier. He pulled up his sleeve to check the time from his watch.

"One o'clock in the morning? Wow, another all-nighter." sighed Makubex. He saved his work and turned off the computer. "Only three million and three more code combinations to try." giggled Makubex.

He left his workstation and headed for his room. Not a soul can be seen on the halls of the tower where Makubex was. It was eerily quiet and only the sound of his footsteps can be heard but Makubex was used to it. He reached his room and unlocked the door. Just as he was about to close the door, he heard a faint sobbing west of his room. He peeped outside to see if anyone was there but it was too dark to see. The sobbing became louder and Makubex grew more curious. He stepped out of his room and followed the whimpering.

"One of the kids must've gotten lost again." said Makubex as he pressed onward to the source of the sobbing. A few moments later, he spotted a boy curled up in the corner of the hall. He couldn't tell what the boy looked like mainly because the only light source was moonlight. He approached the boy and crouched down to comfort him. "Hey, are you lost?" asked Makubex.

"M-Mommy... I want my mommy..." uttered the boy.

"It's late. What are you doing here?" asked Makubex.

"I-I don't know. Mommy said that I should wait here but she's not back yet..." whimpered the boy.

"Oh... Well, we'll find your mommy in the morning okay? You should sleep first or you won't grow up..." comforted Makubex. Makubex faked a smile to comfort the boy but he knew too well that the mother of the child will not come back. Parents who couldn't afford to bring up their child usually leave them in Mugen city in hopes that its citizens will take care of their child. Makubex was disgusted by the notion of parents abandoning their child.

Makubex helped the child stand and led the boy to his room. He locked the door and let the boy rest on the sofa. Now he could clearly see what the boy looked like. The boy has brown hair and green eyes. He wore a blue and white jacket and black shorts. He only reached up to Makubex's chest and he almost has the same build as Makubex but thinner. "Are you hungry? Can I get you anything?" asked Makubex.

"Some water will be nice please..." said the child in a low voice.

"Okay, I'll get you some water. Feel free to make yourself comfortable okay?" smiled Makubex. The boy simply nodded. Makubex reached for a glass on his dish rack and filled it with tap water. He went back to and gave the glass of water to the boy who promptly drank it. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Makubex, and your name is?" asked Makubex.

"I'm... Kifune Aiyuki." replied the boy in a shy manner.

"Aiyuki huh?" smiled Makubex. He spotted something in the boy's hand which caught his attention. It was a small rectangular object with a screen and several buttons. "What you got there?" pointed Makubex to the object.

"Oh this? It's a Joy Joy Station. Mom said my brother gave it to me when I was still young." explained Aiyuki.

_A Joy Joy Station? But they stopped making those when I was ten._

"Cool. I had one of those too but I gave it away." uttered Makubex. "We should probably get you to bed. It's already late." said Makubex. He led the child to his bedroom and switched on the lights. "There are some pajamas here if you don't want to sleep with those clothes..." said Makubex as he opened his closet."You pick what you wanna wear..." smiled Makubex.

"That one..." pointed Aiyuki to the blue pajama with cloud designs. Makubex took out the pajamas as well as a larger one for him. "You get dressed while I take a bath okay?" asked Makubex.

"Okay. But... you'll be back, right?" asked Aiyuki.

"Of course I will. Now get dressed okay?" grinned Makubex as he headed out of the bedroom and into the shower. He took of his clothes and let the cold water of the shower trickle down his body. He grabbed a bar of soap and started scrubbing himself.

_What should I do to him? I can't say to him directly that his mother won't come back for him. Maybe Sakura can help me tomorrow. She's much better with children than me._

Makubex placed the soap back in its holder and grabbed the bottle of shampoo next to it. He squeezed some in his hand and started rubbing it in his white hair.

_But... how come nobody else noticed him earlier? Maybe his mother thought that midnight would be a good time to leave her child without being noticed?_

Makubex finished washing his hair and let the water wash away the thick foam in it. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He then grabbed his toothbrush which was in the medicine cabinet above the sink, squeezed some toothpaste in it and started brushing his teeth.

_Ah I know! I'll look his name up on the net and see if I can find his parents from there._

Makubex spat the foam from the toothpaste and gargled with a glass of water. He then remembered that he left his pajamas back at the bedroom. He went back there and saw Aiyuki sitting on the bed, playing with his Joy Joy Station. Beeps and Dings can be heard from Aiyuki's Joy Joy Station. He was already wearing the pajama that Makubex lend him and his old clothes lied on the floor. "Aiyuki, you still awake?" asked Makubex.

"I was waiting for you mister." said Aiyuki.

"Lemme just get dressed and I'll be back." said Makubex as he grabbed the pajamas from where he set it as well as a pair of underwear.

He went back to the bathroom and changed to his pajama. He went back into the bedroom where Aiyuki was.

"Okay, so I'll sleep on the floor and you take the bed." said Makubex as he laid a cushion on the floor and grabbed a pillow.

"Umm... Can you sleep in the bed too? It's big enough for both of us." said Aiyuki.

"Why? Are you scared of the dark?" asked Makubex.

"No! I... I just have a condition." said Aiyuki.

"Huh? What condition?" asked Makubex.

"I have a tendency to sleepwalk mister. I need someone to make sure that I don't." explained Aiyuki.

"Oh, okay." replied Makubex as he picked up the pillow from the floor and placed it next to Aiyuki's. He lied next to the child facing the boy directly.

"Thanks mister." said Aiyuki as he wrapped both his arms around Makubex. Makubex was faintly surprised by the child's act but he kinda felt comfortable himself. It wasn't everyday that he had someone to sleep with him (no pun intended). He wrapped one arm over the boy's neck and closed his eyes. He wanted to make sure that the boy felt comfortable tonight because he wasn't sure if Aiyuki could stomach in the truth come morning. "Mister Makubex, I wish I had a brother like you..." whispered Aiyuki.

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OOC: Hope you liked that chapter. I'll be adding the next one soon enough. Reviews onegai!


	2. Bliss

**Chapter 2 - Bliss**

_Mom... Please! We have to take him to the hospital!_

_He'll be fine! Just give him some water and he'll be okay._

_He's having a heart attack mom!_

_I don't care! If we bring him to the hospital, we won't be eating anything tomorrow._

_Is that more important to you than your own son!_

_He's not my son!!!_

_If you won't take him to the hospital, then I will!_

Makubex's eyes shot open at the sound of his alarm clock. He switched off the alarm and did a few stretches. He sat up and checked if Aiyuki was still in bed. To his comfort, he found Aiyuki sleeping like a baby under the sheets of blanket. Makubex decided to wake up the child later. He went out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. He opened the sink faucet and splashed his face with water. Makubex stared at the mirror and tried to organize his plans for the day in his head.

"_First I need to ask Sakura to baby sit Aiyuki, then I'll try to search the Japanese Citizen database to see if I could find some info on Aiyuki's parents, then it's off to cracking Babylon City's password..." _thought Makubex.

Makubex changed into his usual attire and made his way towards the kitchen. Suddenly, he heard knocking from his front door.

"Makubex its Juubei!" said a voice from behind the door.

Makubex hastily opened his room's door to let Juubei in. Usually, Sakura was the first person that Makubex sees in the morning.

"Can I help you with something Juubei?" asked Makubex. Makubex offered Juubei to go in but he declined the offer.

"Um not really. I'm just here to tell you that Sakura won't be here today. She said she had to go out of Mugenjou for something important." told Juubei.

"Is that so? Too bad, I was gonna ask her a favor today..." sighed Makubex.

"A favor?" asked Juubei.

Suddenly, another person passed the room which turned out to be Kazuki. He stopped by after spotting Juubei.

"Good morning Juubei. Morning Makubex." smiled Kazuki.

"Good morning to you too Kazuki. Hey, listen. Can I ask you two a favor?" asked Makubex.

"Sure. What is it Makubex?" replied Kazuki.

"Can you two ummm... baby sit?" smiled Makubex sheepishly.

"Baby sit??? Baby sit who?" asked Kazuki.

The bedroom door suddenly swung open and Aiyuki stepped out of the door. His hair was in a tussle and he was rubbing his eyes.

"Him." pointed Makubex to Aiyuki.

"Where'd you find him?" asked Kazuki.

"He was in the hall last night, crying." answered Makubex.

"Is he umm... You know, abandoned?" whispered Kazuki.

"I think so. He said his mother ordered him to wait on the hall and the woman never came back. I'm planning on doing an online search for his parents." explained Makubex in a sad tone.

"Poor thing. Don't worry Makubex; we'll take good care of him. You just do your best in finding his parents." smiled Kazuki.

Makubex nodded and approached Aiyuki.

"Aiyuki, this is Kazuki and Juubei. You'll be staying with them today. Is that okay Aiyuki?" asked Makubex.

Aiyuki gave an uneasy look at Kazuki and Juubei. He looked back at Makubex with a worried face.

"Don't worry. They're good guys. They won't hurt you, but if they do you just tell me and I'll beat 'em up okay?" giggled Makubex.

"I didn't know that Makubex was good with children..." murmured Juubei to Kazuki.

"Come on let's introduce ourselves." said Kazuki as he took one of Juubei's hand and led him to Aiyuki. Kazuki crouched down until his face was of the same level as Aiyuki's. "Hi there, I'm Kazuki." said Kazuki bubbly as he extended a hand to Aiyuki.

"Hi miss Kazuki. My name is Aiyuki. It's nice to meet you." said Aiyuki shakily as he slowly accepted the handshake.

_Miss?!_

"Umm, I'm not a girl Aiyuki-chan ehehehe..." laughed Kazuki sheepishly.

"Gomenasai. I'm very very sorry mister Kazuki." apologized Aiyuki profusely.

"Ah, no it's okay Aiyuki. Most people mistake me for a girl anyways. Oh and just call me Kazuki okay?" said Kazuki as he patted Aiyuki's head.

"Can I call you big brother Kazuki?" asked Aiyuki.

"Sure. Oh and this is Juubei. He's my best friend." introduced Kazuki. Juubei simply nodded at Kazuki's introduction.

"Now you go ahead and get dressed Aiyuki." said Makubex. He stood up and exited the room. "I'll be back at seven okay Aiyuki?"

Aiyuki went back into the bedroom and got changed. While Kazuki and Juubei sat on the sofa and waited for Aiyuki.

"You sure we can handle him Kazuki? I mean, we've never had any experience in taking care of a child..." asked Juubei. His voice sounded worried.

"Relax Juubei. It'll be fun and besides..." said Kazuki as he placed one arm over Juubei's shoulder.

"Besides what?" asked Juubei.

"I've always wanted to experience what it would be like to take care of a child." smiled Juubei.

Aiyuki exited the bedroom, dressed in his blue jacket and black shorts.

"Let's go Aiyuki. We're going to the amusement park today." smiled Kazuki as he offered a hand to Aiyuki.

The child's face lit up and he hastily took Kazuki's hand. They went out of Mugenjou and headed towards the subway. Kazuki purchased three tickets and the three of them boarded the train to downtown.

"There's no more seats Kazuki. There's only 2 more seats available." said Juubei.

"Don't worry. I have an idea." smiled Kazuki. Juubei and Kazuki sat down. "Sit on my lap Aiyuki." offered Kazuki to the child.

Aiyuki nodded and happily sat on Kazuki's lap. Kazuki wrapped his arms on the child's stomach in order to prevent Aiyuki from falling. Aiyuki grabbed his Joy Joy Station from his pocket and started playing with it. Kazuki couldn't help but be curious at the child's gadget.

"What's that Aiyuki-san?" asked Kazuki.

"It's a Joy Joy Station. I'm playing Treasure Seeker right now..." replied Aiyuki.

"Cool." grinned Kazuki. A loud beeping sound suddenly came from Aiyuki's toy.

"Yay! I got fifty thousand bonus points!" squealed Aiyuki.

"Really? Good job!" cheered Kazuki.

The train suddenly grinded into a halt. They have reached the station. The three went out of the train and out of the subway.

"Are you hungry Aiyuki-chan?" asked Kazuki.

"Kinda. I haven't eaten breakfast yet big brother Kazuki." replied Aiyuki.

Kazuki mentally knocked his head after remembering that he forgot to feed the child. Spotting the Honky Tonk from a distance, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Let's eat there before we go to the amusement park okay?" smiled Kazuki.

They stopped at the entrance of the restaurant and as usual, Ban and Ginji's car was parked outside. They could also hear Ban shouting at Ginji from outside.

"Are you sure it's safe to eat here big brother Kazuki?" asked Aiyuki.

"Of course it is. Let's go then." said Kazuki as they entered the restaurant.

"Kazuki! Juubei! What brings you two here?" asked Natsumi who was at the bar.

"What, we can't come here to eat without being interrogated?" joked Kazuki.

"I was beginning to suspect that people coming here to eat was a myth..." laughed Natsumi. She spotted Aiyuki who was holding Kazuki's hand and she immediately rushed towards the child. "Awww so cute... Where's he from?" asked Natsumi.

"Umm, he's kinda new to Mugenjou. Makubex asked us to baby sit him." replied Kazuki.

"You three look a lot like a happy family out on a Sunday gimmick." teased Natsumi. Juubei and Kazuki blushed at the thought of being mistaken as a couple.

"Look Ban, its Kazuki and Juubei." pointed Ginji to the three.

"Hey guys. Oooh, so you've decided to adopt a child to make it official then." laughed Ban.

"Very funny Ban." sighed Kazuki sarcastically.

"Who are they big brother Kazuki?" asked Aiyuki.

"Ah, they are Ban and Ginji. They're also friends of mine as well as Makubex." said Kazuki.

"Isn't he just the cutest thing you've ever seen?!" giggled Natsumi as she eagerly pinched Aiyuki's cheeks. Natsumi returned to the bar and put out three plates. "So what can I get you guys?" asked Natsumi.

"Three spaghettis please. Oh and two orange juice and an iced tea." said Kazuki. "By the way Natsumi, where's Paul?" asked Kazuki. The three sat down on one of the seats near the window.

"He's out shopping. He'll be back in a couple of hours. So that means I'm in charge here for now. And that also means no free meals!" said Natsumi as she looked at Ban and Ginji.

"Okay okay... We get the idea Natsumi." retorted Ban.

"You three headed somewhere?" asked Ginji.

"We're going to the amusement park. You guys wanna come?" asked Kazuki.

Ginji approached Ban and began tugging on his dress. "Can we come please? Can we? Can we?" begged Ginji.

"I don't have any money Ginji. We barely got to eat this morning. We can't come unless of course, Kazuki lends us some money." grinned Ban.

"Can't help you in that department. Maybe some other time then..." laughed Kazuki.

Ginji transformed into his chibi look and began crying.

"Huh what's this?" asked Aiyuki feeling something in his foot. He went under the chair to check what he has stepped on. He spotted a wallet on the ground and quickly picked it up. "A wallet?" asked Aiyuki as he examined it.

"Hey, did somebody lose their wallet?" asked Juubei.

All of them shook their head in disagreement.

"Ban and Ginji were our only customers for three days. That could belong to anyone..." said Natsumi as she placed the three plates of spaghetti on the table.

Aiyuki checked the content of the wallet and to his surprise, it contained a hefty amount of money.

"Whoa, 50,000 yen!" said Kazuki as he counted the money.

"Waaah! They're so lucky..." said Ginji.

"Now can you lend us some money to go to the amusement park?" asked Ban.

"Well Aiyuki found it so you should ask him." replied Kazuki.

"Okay! I'll give the money to uncle Ban and Ginji so that they can come with us." smiled Aiyuki.

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Yay 2nd chappy! Read and Review please and I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow.


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